Watermelon

Having already read LAST CHANCE SALOON and LUCY SULLIVAN IS GETTING MARRIED, I continue to be thrilled at the biting edge of dark humor Marian Keyes brings to chick lit. She lifts these books up from a banal girl-looking-for-guy novel and gives then something more, namely unforgettable characters the reader truly comes to care about.Who could be more vulnerable than Claire whose husband James tells her on the day she gives birth to their first-born that he is leaving her for another woman in their apartment building? Thus begins Claire's often sad, often comical, but always interesting saga. She grabs her newborn and flies from London to the safe harbor of her parents home in Dublin. There we meet her hilarious mother and father as well as two of her four sisters: the self-involved Helen and the lovably flakey Anna. (Guess Rachel was busy starring in RACHEL'S HOLDIAY and MAGGIE was caught up in her story as told in ANGELS.) The Walsh family is not a model family, but it is one that you'll love being a part of --- the fights, the squabbles, the sisterly ritual of stealing clothes from one another, the tension amidst the camaraderie, the freezer with frozen food and the mother's aversion to home-cooked meals---all make Claire's stay less than peaceful.Will she ever come to terms with what has happened to her? Can she pull herself up from her quagmire of despair over losing James? Can she be a fit and loving mother to Kate? Will she stop toying with the idea of stealing her sister's boyfriend and just go ahead and do it? Will Claire come to her senses and tell James off for good or will she go back to him?Claire will steal your heart as her easy, conversational tone speaks to you just as she would to her best friend, in a breezy, self-deprecating style that keeps you eagerly turning the pages.

Loved it! Now I want to see a BBC/A & E telemovie version.Although "Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married" was great, I was unsure about reading "Watermelon". A novel in which the herione gives birth and gets dumped by her husband on the first page seemed a little intimidating. It sat on my bookshelf for a few weeks despite my faith in Keyes' storytelling skills. I wondered if it would be: 1)an "against all odds", "surmounting obstacles", "girlpower" book; 2)a male-bashing "can't live with them/can't live without them" book; and/or 3)a novel which reinforces the strategic/disaster recovery recommendations found in self-help books? Well, its all of these things; however, the "good for you" messages are delivered subtly and with humor. This book is a great escape for the overwelmed. It's uplifting and fun. PS-Read "Watermelon" before "Rachel's Holiday" to get a better sense of Clair and Rachel's family.

Watermelon is an excellent first novel. The main character, Claire, tells the story of how she learns to move on with her life after her husband, James, leaves her the day she gives birth to their daughter. Claire is a lighthearted character, and even when she's in tremendous pain over the deception and betrayal of her husband, she tells the reader all about it in a very comical manner. Claire's family, an odd and entertaining bunch themselves, are very supportive and loving while she heals from her pain and waits to see what will become of her marriage. And Adam, a handsome, younger man also helps Claire heal and see herself in a very different light. Claire has a witty, endearing voice that will make you love her immediately. The story itself is very interesting, and is told in a very comical manner, so you won't be able to put the book down. And the ending is very funny. Watermelon is an excellent summer read.

i LOVED this book! i was browsing thru barnes & nobles one day and came across this book. the cover is what caught my eye first. i read the back and decided it was worth trying-i LOVE reading and am always onthe lookout for fabulous reads. i picked it up and didn't want to put it down once i got started. this is by far one of the BEST books i have ever read. marian keyes writes in such a way that i was able to easily get into the characters emotions. i laughed out loud several times, one time to the point i had tears-which hardly ever happens. i finished the book in the span of 4 hours. some of the scenes are uproariously hilarious and i enjoyed the way the book was in first person. it makes you more able to get into the feelings of the person. funny, tender, sad, and a bit triumphant for those of us who go through losing a significant other to someone else. the book is in all a fabulous read! i can certainly sympathise with what claire goes through. her support network of family and friends are, themselves, a little off the wall sometimes, but isn't that what real life is in the first place? i wish they would get her books over to america faster. we are just now (aug 1999) getting lucy sullivan got married-in hardcover. those are the only two books of hers that we have over here. what's the hold up?

"February the fifteenth is a very special day for me. It is the day I gave birth to my first child". Upon reading these first lines in "Watermelon", I was hooked!!!! The reason being that February the fifteenth is also the day that I gave birth to my first child!!!I feel in love with the book and couldn't put it down. Marian Keyes was able to portray a pretty sad situation in an extremely humourous and witty manner. All of Claire's emotions, trials and tibulations are so real and expressed in such candor that you can't help but identify with her totally. I found myself laughing outloud at 3 A.M. in the morning, waking my husband, and having him tell me, "Go to sleep already!!!". But "Waremelon" is just such a gift to every women who has ever been wronged, who has every been made to feel inadequate, who has ever had the guts to pick up the pieces and become whole once again.Thank you Maian Keyes. I wish I would have had this book near me 7 years ago when I went through my divorce from my first husband. He, just like James, was a professional manipulator. And I, like Claire, are both survivors and no longer feel like "watermelons"!!!!!!